I changed my business card design again. This time I’m doing a 2 x 2
experiment testing the effect of my tagline (“tech evangelist,
storyteller, geek” vs “speaker, writer, storyteller, geek”) and the
orientation of the text on the back (talking points, etc).

One of the first things that Winston Damarillo asked for when I met
him in Manila was one of my business cards, which he’d heard so much
about because of my blog. I didn’t have any then (gasp, gasp!), so I’m
snailmailing him a card with two annotated copies of my business card
(front and back).

Here are some of my notes from several iterations of business cards.
(I really should archive them…)

Name: Sacha Chua. That’s what I go by. =)

Tagline: An unconventional job title (or titles) like “tech
evangelist, storyteller, geek” tells people that this is not a typical
business card, and usually provides people with an easy question: “so,
what does a tech evangelist (/storyteller) do?” A little harder to
pull off in non-tech crowds, though, because “evangelist” has other
strong (and often negative) associations. I’m trying out a new batch
of cards that say “speaker, writer, storyteller, geek”, and will give
either that or the evangelist version depending on the conversaetion.

Icon: The stylized black-and-white icon is recognizable as my face,
but still reproduces well in prints and photocopies. Good visual cue
for people who might be going through stacks of business cards after a
conference. Also, adds a smile to the business card. People have
complimented me on the use of simple images like that.

Tagline: I’m playing around with the tagline. It used to be something
about making the world smaller. Now it’s about discovering and sharing
tips, and it points out the talking points on the back of the card.
The tagline’s also been very useful, and people have complimented me
on it (and told me to put it back when I experimented with no-tagline
cards!)

Talking points at back: Various things to talk about. Networking tips,
tools, etc. General enough to cover most events, although I’ll still
customize it for specific occasions.

This isn’t the final form of my business card yet. I’m sure I’ll come
up with other crazy ideas. Kaizen—constant improvement! For example,
I still have to test it with a business card scanner. I’d also love to
figure out how to more effectively use whitespace to draw the eye and
balance the card. And the talking points keep changing…

But yes, business cards. One day I should write a proper article or
prepare a good presentation about the evolution of my business cards,
how paying attention to the details helps, and some ideas people can
use for their own business cards…